Blown Back by KDK to 1965

[Media Invite]




As a culmination of the “Treasured Moments” nostalgia campaign by KDK in celebration of SG50, an exclusive screening of “1965” for over 50 local families took place last week at Shaw Lido Theatres.

The 50 families were selected from the “Treasured Moments” Photo Journey competition, where they shared 3 photos depicting their treasured moments with families and loved ones. The winners also received limited edition FlashPay cards, as well as KDK Box Fans.



The LKY musical and the "1965" movie are the two local productions about Mr Lee Kuan Yew that I wanted very much to watch, particularly with AJ. I am thankful that I have received the invite by Capital Distributors, sole distributor of KDK fans in Singapore to watch "1965". 

Produced by MM2 Entertainment, the "1965" movie is a touching and heart-felt reflection of growing up in Singapore and is guaranteed to bring a tear to many. The film screening event gave us a chance to revisit the history of Singapore together, and understand the roots of Singapore better.

"1965" is not exactly all about Lee Kuan Yew, in fact, the scenes of Lim Kay Tong, who played the role of Mr Lee, were not that many. "1965" is about the communal riots in 1964-1965 involving clashes between the Malays and the Chinese that occurred in Singapore when it was part of the Federation of Malaysia. But those riots were the turning points for Singapore. In that year, Lee Kuan Yew fought to stay in Malaysia, but we were kicked out. Thus on 9 August 1965, we declared the separation.

"1965" is a story about the lives of the people who were living through that time. The lives and the stories of our pioneer generation.  Many people, especial the younger generation, have no memory of Lee Kuan Yew in his prime. So there is no better way than to watch a movie about Singapore’s early years.

The scenes in the movie were made as real as possible and I must praise MM2 Entertainment for that effort. I believe the pioneers who have watched this movie would have felt the association; we were really brought back 50 years. I especially love the compelling narration.

The movie is long, slightly more than 2 hours. But I am glad that AJ was able to sit through the whole movie without complaining. I think he was absorbing well, because he wrote this note which I later found in his pencil case.



If you ask me if it is advisable to bring young children along, I would say, a child of 9 and above would be able to appreciate the show. Since 1997, the date 21 July – the day on which the riots started – has been marked as Racial Harmony Day. On this day, students are reminded that social division weakens society, and that race and religion will always be potential fault lines in Singapore’s society. It is a day for students to reflect on and celebrate the nation’s success as a harmonious society built on cultural diversity. So to some extend, they would be able to understand better the importance of racial harmony in Singapore through this movie.

As what Mr Lee said on 9 Aug 1965:


We are going to have a multi-racial nation in Singapore.
We will set the example.
This is not a Malay nation.
This is not a Chinese nation.
This is not an Indian nation.
… …
We unite, regardless of race, language, religion, culture.


"1965" is not a usual commercial movie, but it is wonderful in its own way. This is one movie you watched, and then came out of the theatre with a heavy yet thankful heart.









Comments

Popular Posts